How to hide a datum from everyone but class T
-
24-05-2021 - |
Question
I want a type A that will yield its hidden datum to an object of type T but hide the datum from everyone else. My C++ compiler happens to be GCC 4.4, but that shouldn't matter. Why won't this work?
#include <iostream>
template <class T> class A {
private:
int n1;
public:
friend class T;
A(const int n0 = 0) : n1(n0) {}
};
class B {
public:
int f(const A<B> a) const { return a.n1; }
B() {}
};
int main() {
const A<B> a(5);
const B b;
const int m = b.f(a);
std::cout << m << "\n";
return 0;
}
Incidentally, this works fine, except that it fails to hide the datum:
#include <iostream>
template <class T> class A {
private:
int n1;
public:
int n() const { return n1; }
A(const int n0 = 0) : n1(n0) {}
};
class B {
public:
int f(const A<B> a) const { return a.n(); }
B() {}
};
int main() {
const A<B> a(5);
const B b;
const int m = b.f(a);
std::cout << m << "\n";
return 0;
}
Does C++ really not allow a friend class to be specified at compile time as a template parameter? Why not? If not, then what alternate technique should I use to hide the datum? (One would prefer a compile-time technique if possible.)
What is my misunderstanding here, please?
(I see some answers to related questions here and here, but either they don't answer my particular question or I fail to understand that they do so. At any rate, maybe I am using the wrong technique altogether. Though I remain interested in why the friend class T fails, what I really want to know is how to hide the datum, whether with a friend or by other means.)
Thanks.
Solution
I don't know the standardese behind your error (refer to Xeo's answer), but I did find a workaround for C++03.
Instead of making T
a friend, make one of T
's member functions a friend:
#include <iostream>
template <class T> class A {
private:
int n1;
public:
friend int T::getN1(const A& a) const;
A(const int n0 = 0) : n1(n0) {}
};
class B {
public:
int f(const A<B> a) const { return getN1(a); }
B() {}
private:
int getN1(const A<B>& a) const {return a.n1;}
};
class C {
public:
int f(const A<B> a) const { return getN1(a); }
C() {}
private:
// Error, n1 is a private member of A<B>
int getN1(const A<B>& a) const {return a.n1;}
};
int main() {
const A<B> a(5);
const B b;
const int m = b.f(a);
std::cout << m << "\n";
return 0;
}
Alternatively, you can make a nested class/struct of T be a friend of A. This may be more convenient if there are several private members of A that you want T to have access to.
#include <iostream>
template <class T> class A {
private:
int n1;
public:
friend class T::AccessToA;
A(const int n0 = 0) : n1(n0) {}
};
class B {
public:
int f(const A<B> a) const { return AccessToA::getN1(a); }
B() {};
private:
friend class A<B>;
struct AccessToA
{
static int getN1(const A<B>& a) {return a.n1;}
};
};
class C {
public:
int f(const A<B> a) const { return AccessToA::getN1(a); }
C() {};
private:
friend class A<C>;
struct AccessToA
{
// Error, n1 is a private member of A<B>
static int getN1(const A<B>& a) {return a.n1;}
};
};
int main() {
const A<B> a(5);
const B b;
const int m = b.f(a);
std::cout << m << "\n";
return 0;
}
OTHER TIPS
Your compiler is simply too old. C++11 allows you to declare template parameters as friends.
§11.3 [class.friend] p3
A friend declaration that does not declare a function shall have one of the following forms:
friend
elaborated-type-specifier
;
friend
simple-type-specifier
;
friend
typename-specifier
;
If the type specifier in a
friend
declaration designates a (possibly cv-qualified) class type, that class is declared as afriend
; otherwise, the friend declaration is ignored.
And it even contains an example of a template parameter as a friend:
class C;
// [...]
template <typename T> class R {
friend T;
};
R<C> rc; // class C is a friend of R<C>
R<int> ri; // OK: "friend int;" is ignored
C++03 sadly has no way to do this, however you can simply friend a single free function and let that act as "glue" code that takes the data from one class and passes it to the other. Another way might be the passkey pattern.